Judge rules against Nampa School District in teacher contract case

The Idaho Press-Tribune reports today that a Canyon County judge has upheld collective bargaining law for Idaho teachers, ruling that the Nampa School District can’t skirt the local teachers union to sign contracts with individual teachers calling for unpaid furloughs. The Nampa Education Association, not the individual teachers, is the legal negotiating agent between educators and the district, 3rd District Judge Molly Huskey ruled.

Paul Stark, attorney for the NEA, told the Press-Tribune, “We’re appreciative that the rule of law has been upheld in this case, and that the collective bargaining process has been defended and validated. The ruling is going to ensure that deviations from the law like this will not happen again in Nampa, and hopefully not in other parts of the state.

The newspaper reported that district public information officer Allison Westfall said the district was disappointed with the order, but glad the matter’s now settled. “Our sole intent last December was to find a way to accommodate those individual teachers who came forward wanting to volunteer for furlough days to help with the district’s financial crisis,” she said. Read the paper’s full report here from reporter John Funk.